TEA Party: Tobacco Everywhere Always

Climate change doubt is a key belief in the TEA Party, sparked by the Koch-related Americans for Prosperity and FreedomWorks. Big Tobacco was heavily involved from the 1980s onward, and by 1992 the “Tea Party” was already in play. Extensive new research has unearthed the real history.

“Rather than being a purely grassroots movement that spontaneously developed in 2009, the Tea Party has developed over time, in part through decades of work by the tobacco industry and other corporate interests.”

“Starting in the 1980s, tobacco companies worked to create the appearance of broad opposition to tobacco control policies by attempting to create a grassroots smokers’ rights movement. Simultaneously, they funded and worked through third-party groups, such as Citizens for a Sound Economy, the predecessor of AFP and FreedomWorks, to accomplish their economic and political agenda. There has been continuity of some key players, strategies and messages from these groups to Tea Party organisations. As of 2012, the Tea Party was beginning to spread internationally.”

'A. Long-term - To create political environment where “moderates” of both parties can vote for legislation that divests FDA of any power to regulate tobacco because they are convinced that FDA is already failing miserably in accomplishing its “core mission.”

B. Short-term - To quarterback behind the scenes, third-party efforts to launch, publicize and execute a broad non-tobacco-based attack on the many failings of the FDA with respect to its currently authorized statutory activities.

The tobacco/climate anti-science relationship was highlighted in Merchants of Doubt and has been noted by others. Tobacco interests created many of the tactics and fostered the machinery inherited by other anti-science efforts. Here at DeSMogBlog Fakery 2: More Funny Finances, Free oF Tax, Appendix F, showed the crucial problem for tobacco companies. As per RJ Reynolds' The Importance of Younger Adults, they needed to addict children to create lifelong customers, not adults. Few start smoking after age 18, and later starters find it easier to quit, because addiction really is best entrenched while brains are still developing.

Higher cigarette taxes especially deter children from smoking, so they pose an existential threat to tobacco companies, to be fought at all costs, but hidden among larger groups. As Fallin, Grana and Glantz wrote,

“In 1990, Tim Hyde, RJR director of national field operations, outlined a strategy for RJR to create ‘a movement’ resembling what would later emerge as the Tea Party by

'build[ing] broad coalitions around the issue-cluster of freedom, choice and privacy…'

Another RJR field coordinator later described the company’s motivation for involving and organising third-party organisations:

'…—anti-tax groups were a natural. You didn’t have to defend your position on tobacco because a tax is a tax is a tax to these guys.'”

“Grounded in the theme of “The New American Tax Revolution” or The New Boston Tea Party,” the campaign activity should take the form of citizens representing the widest constituency base mobilized with signage and other attention-drawing accoutrements such as lapel buttons, handouts, petitions and even costumes.”

* This article has 184 footnotes with references to many more details, plus another 16 pages of dense supplementary material listing organizations, people, funding, campaign examples, with its own 161 footnotes. In my opinion, it is an investigative tour de force, costs $30 and is worth every penny.

Comments

The NH branch of Americans for Prosperity was heavily involved in the 2010 election, recruiting and coaching candidates. There was general unease at that point with the medical care act and with the continuing recession, even though NH was not affected much. The promise of jobs from the Tea Partyers/Libertarians resonated, and the true leanings of the candidates were disguised. The legislature went overwhelmingly “Republican” and many dreams of the KooKs were enacted. The voters were appalled by the Legislature's antics and unexpectedly rejected interim Republican candidates who were thought to have sure shots.

One of the ugly and counterproductive actions was to lower the cigarette tax, already the lowest of nearby states. The 'reason' given was that lowering the taxes were raise the revenue because smokers would flock to NH to buy cheaper ciggies. (Of course they didn't calculate how much the travelers would have to pay for gas.)

Unsurpriselingly taxes on cigarettes went down. NH, always a revenue-starved state, had to make up money elsewhere (they taxed hospitals, very ugly).

The 2012 election flipped the House by huge numbers and barely stayed republican. I expect raising the cigarette tax is on the list.

Undoubtedy the tobacco lobby was the force behind lowering the tax and hurting the state of New Hampshire's revenues. I've checked the money received by some legislatures and the tobacco lobby is generous. Earlier, one NH company that hired only non-smokers found that the legislature passed a bill forbidding the practice, after lots of tobacco company contributions. http://www.nytimes.com/1996/12/29/business/so-don-t-even-think-about-smo...

So much for getting the government off the back of a business.

I hope this latest “dirty trick” gets wide airing through the public. I am glad the long range goal of the tobacco lobby isn't working. I am grateful for clean indoor air; my sinuses are almost never swollen these days. Much more fun that vicious head aches caused by second-hand smoke.

"Fossil-fuel companies have spent millions funding anti-global-warming think tanks, purposely creating a climate of doubt around the science. DeSmogBlog is the antidote to that obfuscation." ~ BRYAN WALSH, TIME MAGAZINE